This year the annual ATX Television Festival is being held virtually so SciFi Vision is able to attend part of the event. The festival this year is spread across ten days, with evening programming during the week and day-long programming on the weekend. Unlike last year’s free three-day festival with panels available on YouTube, this year’s content is only available to paid attendees and press.

Today marked the first day of the festival and there were a few events to start it off.

First up was The Daily, which will air everyway, where festival co-founders Caitlin McFarland and Emily Gibson previewed how the festival would be running this year. They were also joined by directors of the festival, Jennifer Morgan and Laura Kincaid. Most of the panels and such is pre-taped, but there will also be live things to come, including surprise “pop-up” events.

Tomorrow, Lifetime premieres the third film in its “Summer of Secrets” lineup, Left for Dead: The Ashley Reeves Story. The film is based on real events and tells the story of 17-year-old Ashley Reeves (Anwen O’Driscoll), who was left for dead in the woods, where she lay for thirty hours after a brutal attack. Reeves was left with no memory of the event and had to learn how to walk and talk again. The film also stars Jennie Garth as Ashley’s mother, Michelle.

Recently, stars, Garth and O’Driscoll, and director, Gloria Ui Young Kim, took part in a press conference with journalists to promote the film.

O’Driscoll talked to Jamie Ruby of SciFi Vision about working on her and Garth’s relationship in the film and trying to meet outside of filming. “I mean, it was hard to do a lot, because there were COVID restrictions, of course, but we did have a get together, Gloria, Jennie, and I, one time beforehand, where we talked through everything and talked through our characters and the journey of the edge and had dinner one time. But it wasn't too much, because of COVID going on. We did a lot of it on set, which was great.”

The director added that they all also bonded over Garth’s dog, who she brought to set.

In the fifth and final season of Syfy’s Van Helsing, Vanessa, played by Kelly Overton, Jack (Nicole Muñoz), and Violet (Keeya King) work to bring an end to the Dark One (Tricia Helfer) once and for all. Tonight’s all-new episode, “The Doorway,” marks the return of Vanessa. In the episode, Vanessa pulls Axel (Jonathan Scarfe) into the Dark Realm in the hopes of helping her escape.

Overton recently spoke to Jamie Ruby of SciFi Vision in an exclusive interview about her return to the series, how much the series has changed over the seasons, how she feels about the ending, and more.

Lucifer Season Five Blooper Reel
Netflix's Geeked Week

The devil is in the details. And sometimes the details get a bit messed up. Enjoy this collection of bloopers from Lucifer Season 5. During the Geeked Week presentation today, Netflix release the official blooper reel for season five. Be sure to watch the presentation for a table read from the pilot, coming up soon! Check it out below and watch Lucifer, now on Netflix.

ATX -- INSIDE THE WRITERS ROOM: BLINDSPOTTING
Saturday, June 19 at 1:30pm (CDT)
Starz, 45 min.

Panelists: RAFAEL CASAL (Creator/Executive Producer/Writer), DAVEED DIGGS (Creator/Executive Producer/Writer), ALANNA BROWN (Writer), NIJLA MUMIN (Writer), PRISCILA GARCIA-JACQUIER (Writer), BENJAMIN TURNER (Writer)
Moderator: ASHLEY RAY HARRIS, "TV, I Say" Podcast

Starz joins this year’s line-up with a look inside the writers’ room of their new summer series, “Blindspotting,” the television series inspired by the 2018 feature film from writers/producers/stars Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs. The half-hour dramedy centers on Ashley, played by Emmy® nominee Jasmine Cephas Jones, who was nipping at the heels of a middle-class life in Oakland until Miles (Rafael Casal), her partner of 12 years and father of their son, is suddenly incarcerated, leaving her to navigate a chaotic and humorous existential crisis when she’s forced to move in with Miles’ mother Rainey (Helen Hunt) and half-sister Trish (Jaylen Barron). We'll enjoy a conversation about adapting the concept from film to TV, expanding Ashley and Miles’ world, and the unique musicality of the series, and get an early look at Episode 2 of the series. “Blindspotting” premieres June 13 on Starz.

Tonight, Lifetime premieres the film Soccer Mom Madam as part of its “Summer of Secrets.” The movie, which stars Jana Kramer, was inspired by true events. The film follows Anna (Kramer) who goes to work at a massage parlor for her cousin but soon moves out to create her own high-end escort service in New York that caters to the rich and powerful. Anna keeps her operation and success hidden from her family and friends, until the FBI begins to investigate and her double life is revealed.

Recently Kramer and Orly Adelson, who served as executive producer on the film, took part in a junket with journalists to promote the movie.

Kramer talked to Jamie Ruby of SciFi Vision about some of the challenges she faced making the film. She wanted to make sure people saw the positives in Anna. “Once I got the idea out of my head that, ‘Okay, I don't have to portray this person exactly’…I wanted people to see that she was just doing the best that she could [and had] that likability too. As a mom, as a single mom, it's like I'm going to do what I have to do to support my kids, and it may not be what you like, but I have to do what I have to do. So, my biggest challenge, I guess, was just making sure that I kept her focus on the kids…and it was hard, because you'll see in the storyline, that she kind of gets a little bit lost, but [I wanted to bring] it back to the heart of why she worked so hard.”

Tonight Lifetime premieres the first in a series of “Summer of Secrets” movies, Gone Mom: The Disappearance of Jennifer Dulos. The thrilling film is based on the true story ripped from the headlines of Connecticut mother, Jennifer Doulos (Annabeth Gish)’s disappearance. The film also stars Warren Christie as Jennifer’s husband and prime suspect, Fotis.

Stars Gish and Christie, along with executive producers Rachel Stockman and Ilene Kahn Power and director Gail Harvey, recently talked to the media as part of a junket promoting the film.

Gish talked to Jamie Ruby of SciFi Vision about what attracted her to the role. “Well, for me, there were multiple reasons, not the least of which is that Jennifer would have been my peer. When I was at Duke, she was at Brown. We’re both the exact same age. I'm a mother, and I think there's a real resonance to understanding that this kind of domestic violence can occur in any social strata, whether you're privileged or not. And I think the story of loving someone and then being surprised with who they actually are is a common one. So, I wouldn’t say I was eager; it was stressful to take on the role, but I wanted to embody this part.”

STARZ ANNOUNCES DROUGHTLANDER WILL END IN EARLY 2022 WITH “OUTLANDER” SEASON SIX PREMIERE

PRODUCTION WRAPS ON SEASON SIX IN SCOTLAND AS FANS CELEBRATE WORLD “OUTLANDER” DAY

JUNE 01, 2021

Santa Monica, Calif. - In honor of World “Outlander” Day, STARZ announced today Droughtlander will end in early 2022 as production wraps this week on the sixth season of the original series “Outlander” from executive producer Ronald D. Moore. Reprising their starring roles, Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan as “Claire and Jamie Fraser,” Sophie Skelton and Richard Rankin as “Brianna and Roger MacKenzie” and John Bell as “Young Ian,” the series returns in 2022 with an eight-episode season including a 90-minute premiere episode.

“We are excited to get into the editing room to work on bringing the fans one step closer to reuniting with the family back on Fraser’s Ridge,” said Matthew B. Roberts, “Outlander” showrunner. “Filming in 2021 has presented an unprecedented set of challenges which led us to the decision to truncate the season in order to bring the fans the most vibrant and dynamic season as soon as possible. Dinna fash, we will then film an extended season seven with 16 episodes next year as life returns to normalcy.”

Today Netflix dropped the eagerly anticipated season 5B of its hit series, Lucifer. The series follows Lucifer (Tom Ellis), who after coming down to Earth, works as a consultant for the LAPD with Detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German). Lesley-Ann Brandt stars as the demon Mazikeen.

In the back half of the season, Maze is on the search for a soul, and she also reconnects with Eve (Inbar Lavi) on the way.

Yesterday, Brandt talked to Jamie Ruby for an exclusive interview with SciFi Vision about working on the series, creating a musical episode, Maze's relationships, her motivations, designing Mazikeen’s look, and more.

Lucifer - 5.09 - "Family Dinner"

**The following is a detailed recap and review of the episode, which means it's full of spoilers. Please don’t read any further until you’ve watched it. You can also check out my (almost) spoiler-free review for the second half of the season if you prefer**

Netflix finally dropped the anticipated conclusion to season five of its hit series Lucifer less than an hour ago. In the last episode, Lucifer (Tom Ellis) was about to tell Chloe (Lauren German) how he felt when Amenadiel (D.B. Woodside) accidentally stopped time, not in control of his powers. Lucifer’s twin, Michael (also Ellis), had got into Amenadiel’s head, revealing that his son, Charlie, was human. Leaving a frozen Chloe, Lucifer joined Amenadiel to battle his brother, as well as Maze (Lesley-Ann Brandt), who had sided with Michael, believing that he could get her a soul. At the height of the battle, the brothers’ father, God (Dennis Haysbert), appeared, putting a stop to the fight. Season 5B picks up in that moment.

Following the recap is a review of the episode.